Chapter 100: Some sweetness (VII)

Another hot and humid July, with respite brought in only by the evenings; the cool breeze from the riverbank carrying a sense of relief after the stickiness of the past two months.

In the Wolong county seat's east side, down Hugua Alley, one of the homes was lit up with bright and colorful lanterns and the sound of chatter and laughter rose up from the courtyard –– it looked lively and pleasant.

This home was unique compared to all the others on its street. There were two blocks of stone to either side of the narrow front door, and those blocks had been carved into some kind of abstract form –– while they still looked true to their original rock nature, when the blocks were arranged in that way, they did not look chaotic but rather beautiful.

Above the narrow door hung two brand-new red lanterns, on which had been calligraphed in black ink the single character: Zhang.

The man who lived in this home was the most famous artisan in all of Wolong County: Stone Zhang. And today was his sixtieth birthday. He'd travelled far and wide in his life and career, and had seen all sorts of sights and met all sorts of people –– it had been a good life.

Usually, when the townspeople celebrated major events, there was a whole list of rituals and formalities to observe. But Stone Zhang didn't want to have an enormous party; instead, early that morning, he had his still-youthful son and daughter go door-to-door and gift their neighbors juicy, pale birthday peaches –– but refused to accept any gift in return.

For the actual party, he'd only invited close friends and family. There weren't many guests, and the event was not too formal an affair, but they were all close, and the mood was high.

But an informal affair didn't mean a perfunctory feast. Stone Zhang had spent no small amount on hiring the cooks from Wolong County's famous Tianxiang Hall restaurant to come and spend all afternoon crafting the finest, most delicious of Tianxiang Hall's specialty dishes.

Stone Zhang laid out three large tables in the main hall of his compound, and his family members as well as the two apprentices who'd followed him for the past ten years all sat on two of the tables. The third table was strange –– it was the same size as the other two, yet it only had four chairs.

When evening came, Stone Zhang even went so far as getting some people to help him bring a screen into the hall and place it between that table and the other two. He was behaving extremely mysteriously.

The strangest part was, when the caterers arrived with the dishes, Stone Zhang specifically ordered them to put the vegetarian dishes on one side and the meat dishes on the other. The two types couldn't mix under any circumstances.

No one here was a stranger, and the guests didn't object to any of this, but they were very curious and went to ask Stone Zhang about it.

Stone Zhang only waved his hand dismissively and cryptically said, "Honored guests."

As the full moon began to rise in the night sky, there came a loud knock on the front door. Stone Zhang hurried over to greet the newcomers in the courtyard and whooped with laughter. "Twenty-Seven is here!" he exclaimed warmly. "Hey –– How come I feel like you've gotten taller again?"

Indeed it was Twenty-Seven standing by the doorway. More than ten years on, he was no longer that skinny young boy. Apart from a small trace of the past on his brow –– the mole in the middle of his forehead –– he now looked completely different. He was tall and thin, and actually had begun to resemble Jiang Shining, with a studious air about him.

"I think you've just gotten shorter," Twenty-Seven replied. "Last time when I ran into you outside the Li shop, you weren't all hunchbacked as you are now."

He still spoke with a cold and detached tone, which shocked most people at first. But Stone Zhang was used to it, and did not mind at all.

"Well, I'm at that age now. All craftsmen end up hunched over, and I'm just glad it took me this long. I can't compare to young'uns like you," Stone Zhang replied jovially as he guided Twenty-Seven into the banquet hall. "Where are all your kids?"

"They spent all afternoon playing, and now they're exhausted. I can't take them to an event like this. Maybe in a few years' time," Twenty-Seven said.

Maybe it was because Lu Nineteen had been a street child adopted by their parents in the mountains, but now that Twenty-Seven was grown-up, he would every so often come across an orphan abandoned beneath a bridge, and bring them home to raise. He had become famous across the land for his soothsaying, and could afford to feed a few extra mouths.

When Stone Zhang had initially invited Twenty-Seven to the party, he'd told him to bring the three little ones along, but Twenty-Seven had declined. The children still retained some of their habits from the streets –– they were slow to trust, and easily frightened.

So Stone Zhang hadn't insisted. But he was a fretful fellow who liked to gossip and get into other people's business. When he'd first read Twenty-Seven's letter, he'd begun to worry that the orphans would never truly recover from their experiences on the streets, but then he'd felt reassured?again...

Because this was Twenty-Seven we were talking about.

Each time Stone Zhang ran into Twenty-Seven throughout the years, the encounter would make him emotional. He was grateful to watch that depressed, distrustful and burdened young boy gradually transform into the man he was today.

To Stone Zhang, this was proof that kindness and generosity were traits that could be inherited from father to son.

"Are they still not here?" Twenty-Seven asked as he looked around the hall.

Even after all this time, his vision was still the same –– not technically blind, but also not great. But as he further honed his fortune-telling skills, he'd gotten to the point where his vision no longer encumbered his daily life.

Stone Zhang looked in the same direction as Twenty-Seven and shook his head. "Might be a little longer."

The other members of the Zhang, hearing this, looked up with mystified expressions on their faces. Stone Zhang had had his children late in life: the son was a bit older and had passed twenty –– was only two or three years younger than Twenty-Seven –– but the daughter was still only sixteen, still young and fresh-faced. Thankfully, she took after her mother.

The daughter looked up and finally couldn't help but ask Stone Zhang, "Dad, what are you doing staring up at the sky?"

Stone Zhang doted on that daughter of his –– if anyone else had asked, he'd've been able to make something up, but when she asked, he instead lowered his voice and admitted, "I'm waiting for the two honored guests."

The girl stared incredulously. "Dad, do you have food poisoning?"

Stone Zhang chuckled. "Shut up."

All Twenty-Seven had to say was, "Your daughter has an auspicious face."

Stone Zhang frowned at him.?Am I supposed to say thank you?

As they spoke, the sky suddenly clouded over and the low rumble of thunder could be heard.

The guests gathered in the banquet hall all paused, shocked. "What the hell? This storm has come out of nowhere," someone complained.

"Whether or not it came out of nowhere, that sounds like the onset of a huge storm. Let's all get inside," someone else said.

But both Stone Zhang and Twenty-Seven looked up at the sky again.

"They're coming..." Stone Zhang said excitedly under his breath.

All those years ago, the two of them had woken up on Heishi Shore after a near-death experience. They'd said their goodbyes to Xue Xian and returned to Wolong County, and as a farewell gift, Xue Xian had given them each three blank talismanic papers. He'd told them that if they were ever in danger and needed help, they could write a message on the paper and burn it, and he would be able to come to their rescue.

Once home, Twenty-Seven had put his three sheets of paper away, with no intention ever to use them.

Stone Zhang hadn't used any of them either –– the first time was this time. But it hadn't been to ask Xue Xian and Xuanmin for help; instead, he'd just wanted to invite them to spend his birthday together, after twelve years apart.

Folks had a custom that dictated that, from the sixtieth year onwards, birthdays needed to be well-celebrated. After all, one could not be sure if one might have a seventieth or eightieth. With the years trickling away, if Stone Zhang did not try to see his old friends once more, then he might never be able to.

But Stone Zhang didn't want it to be so depressing. The main reason he'd picked this year to celebrate was because this was also the year that his two apprentices were graduating; and from now on, he was no longer taking stonemasonry commissions –– he was retiring.

The last product he ever carved was a small piece of good-luck jade, which he'd only finished a few days prior. He wanted to gift it to his old friends on this occasion.

A shaft of lightning rang across the dark skies and came crashing down into Hugua Alley. Startled, all the guests went scurrying indoors, but Stone Zhang only gestured at the caterers and had them begin bringing in all the dishes, to open the feast.

It was just in time.

Knock, knock, knock, came the front door. Stone Zhang turned around to see two figures, one in white and one in black, standing by the doorway, the figure in black still with his hand in the air, about to knock once more. With a lazy expression?on his face, the man in black said, "You're just getting shorter and shorter."

Stone Zhang sighed.?After all these years, Sir is still so rude.

The guests were none other than Xue Xian and Xuanmin.

As soon as they entered the hall, Stone Zhang's daughter's eyes lit up.

The doorway to the hall was rather narrow, so Xue Xian and Xuanmin had to come in one by one. As Xue Xian walked in, the girl's face turned slack with shock. Her mouth hanging open, she tugged at Stone Zhang's sleeve and whispered into his ear, "Dad, didn't you say I had to choose my husband carefully? Can you help me find one as handsome as him?"

Stone Zhang felt his knees buckle. "Girl, can't you spare your father?"

Although she had been whispering, Xue Xian had heard it all. Filled with glee at the compliment, he eyed the girl and said, "This girl is your daughter? She's as beautiful as a flower."

He flashed a smile at her, and the girl almost fainted.

As Xue Xian walked past, Xuanmin emerged from behind him and the girl gasped in shock once more. Soon, she was tugging at Stone Zhang's sleeve again and saying, "Dad, he looks––"

Terrified that she might say?He looks like husband material too,?Stone Zhang quickly covered her mouth and grumbled, "Stop it. You've got no manners in front of the honored guests. Go now, go find your mother."

The girl took one last longing look at the two guests and ran back to the other table.

The third table that sat behind the screen had four chairs, perfect for Xue Xian, Xuanmin, Lu Twenty-Seven, and Stone Zhang.

Xue Xian sat down and took in the glorious arrangement of dishes on the table. He turned to Stone Zhang and said a rare kind thing: "Looks lovely."

Not only had the vegetarian and meat dishes been clearly separated, but each and every individual dish was also cooked to the tastes of those sitting at the table. And all the local specialties that Xue Xian had originally mentioned he'd wanted to try were laid out right here, with not a single dish missing.

"And there's this wine... A friend of mine has gotten into making wine, and I got this shipment directly from him. Drink up now, before the other guests finish it all." Stone Zhang lifted his cup in his hands and patted the cask of wine by the table, then added, "The wine is flowing tonight. Have as much as you want."

Of course, he hadn't forgotten that Xuanmin did not drink. He motioned for a caterer to bring a pot of tea.

Xue Xian poured himself a cup of wine and took in the scent. This was indeed a potent wine –– just the smell of it was enough to make one feel dizzy. "What's this wine called'" Xue Xian asked. "If it's good, I'll get some for myself too."

Automatically, Stone Zhang replied, "Oh, this wine? It's called Drunken Dragon Lord."

Xue Xian stared at him.

Stone Zhang gulped.?Oh, you fool!

He quickly laughed and explained, "That's just a random name my friend came up with. You mustn't take it seriously."

Xue Xian had never actually been drunk before. Hearing the name of the wine, he grinned and said, "Well, then I have to sample this."

But he ultimately did much more than sample.

That wine really lived up to its name.

At the end of the night, when they left Stone Zhang's compound, Xue Xian looked vital and healthy, his posture perfect, his face glowing, with no sign of a flush –– as though the alcohol had not affected him at all.

When he bade farewell to Stone Zhang and Twenty-Seven, he did so clearly and articulately, without slurring his speech. Thus, Xuanmin didn't immediately notice that anything was wrong either. It was only when they walked deeper into Hugua Alley and came upon a dead end, where Xue Xian transformed into a dragon under the cover of darkness and began to fly away, that it became clear that Xue Xian was not completely sober.

With a puff of white mist, Xue Xian's human form disappeared and was replaced by a long black shadow shooting into the skies, performing artful pirouettes in the air, but before he could begin flying, he suddenly came slinking back to ground level again –– he had been so excited that he had forgotten to bring Xuanmin along with him.

Xuanmin looked into Xue Xian's shimmering eyes with suspicion and asked, "Are you sure you're not drunk?"

"Of course not!" Xue Xian shook his head. "Do I look like drunk to you?" Then, he suddenly smiled and came closer to lick Xuanmin's lips.

He licked Xuanmin tenderly for some time, then stood up straight again, puzzled, and said, "Why do I suddenly feel hot?"

Xuanmin sighed.?And you say you aren't drunk.